Causes of Poverty and Vagrancy

Between 1450 and 1700, attitudes toward the European poor changed dynamically, roughly following a three-part cycle. In the late 1400's, the poor were regarded with sympathy and compassion; generous aid from both public and religious institutions was common. By the 16th Century, however, the poor were treated with suspicion and harsh measures, to ensure that they were not becoming lazy, using welfare as a substitute for labor. Beginning in the 17th Century, the attitudes toward the poor again shifted, returning to more sympathetic views and responses, though many members of the upper-class still retained the negative outlook on the destitute of the 16th Century.

The Great Depression originated in the United States with the stock market crash on October 29, 1929. The depression was the biggest economic fall in American’s history. This crash stretched throughout the globe and affected the rich as well as the poor. There were many causes that assisted in bringing the depression into existence. However one of the main causes was the disproportionate riches during the nineteen-twenties. The gap between the rich and the working class people was the enlarged industrialize production during this period. Also in this period production cost fell quickly, wages rose slowly and prices remained steady.

The Great depression began in 1929 with a dramatic event called that Wall Street Crash. This led to the failure of banks and businesses all over the United States. Millions of people lost all their savings and their jobs, and thousands became homeless because they could not afford to pay their rent. Some homeless families lived in shacks made of cardboard. Others took the road to look for work. (Bingham J.) As it could be imagined it was very disheartening to many as losing everything that was worked hard for. Many events took place during this time, like the Stock Market Crash, The Dust Bowl, The New Deal and also Prohibition that changed the outcome of what people could and couldn’t do.

The 1929-1942 depression saw the worst unemployment rate in the history of the United States. In 1933, the highest unemployment rate, 25%, was recorded, and so 1 in every 4 people was unemployed. There is not just one cause, although many assume that the stock market crash of 1929 was solely responsible. The Dust Bowl, tariffs, debts, and an abundance of other needed banking laws and problems also caused the loss of money in the country's economy, the highest rates of deflation seen since the start of the United States. The Great Depression reached every social class, because each social class caused it.

(Document E) By 1933 the Great Depression reached its prime, over thirteen million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected into office in November 1932. He immediate tried to lessen the effects of the Great Depression with the programs of the New Deal? Programs such as Works Progress Administration, Tennessee

The Great Depression was a period of economic turmoil in the United States that lasted from 1929 until the end of World War II. The Great Depression reflected the economic crisis of the Stock Market’s sudden crash despite America’s economic steadiness for nearly a decade during the Roaring Twenties. Two long term causes of the Great Depression were the poor management and infrastructure of the banks and the overall production of agriculture. Farms prior to the Great Depression over produced during World War I in order to feed European nations, armies, and that overall process costed money. Corn and wheat were popular at the time for mass production which led to an increase of farmers taking out loans in order to expand the land. As more crops

Depression forced the farmers to grow more and more crops. The effect that this had on the

Poverty has been a big issue over the past century or so and continues to be a problem to this day in the United States. Due to the Civil War, rural areas and industrial areas were affected by poverty. The poverty of rural sharecroppers in 1877 was different from the poverty of unemployed industrial workers in 1939. Even though both situations were dealing with a form of poverty, both were two completely different situations. There were several major events that happened that caused poverty of rural sharecroppers in 1877. Although there were various events leading up to the poverty of unemployed industrial workers in 1939, poverty in the year of 1877 was just as bad, if not worse, as in the year of 1939.

The Great Depression remains to be the worst economic slump ever in American history and one which spread practically all over the industrialized world. The Depression bombarded in late 1929 and lasted nearly a decade. Many factors elemented the depth of the widespread prosperity. However, combined, the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade remain the key of all elements.

The Great Depression was a very influential era in American history, affecting many future generations. One of the most prevalent impacts it had on society was the extreme poverty that swept across the nation, affecting both people in cities and in the country. The main cause for this poverty was the mass loss of jobs among the middle class. Millions lost their jobs and consequently their homes. Families lived out of tents and cars in shanty towns or Hoovervilles. In these camps, many people didn’t have their basic human needs met, children and adults alike starved. They lived in clothes that were caked in dirt and tattered, too small for growing children and too cold for the frail elderly. Government relief programs attempted to help but offered little support to the now impoverished families of the millions that lost everything.

The Great Depression first started as early as 1928, but did not affect the United States until 1929. The Great Stock Market crash started the event of the Depression here in America, but was not the main cause to why it happened. During the early stages of the depression, President Hoover failed to help the economy and continued with his belief system of giving people the least help they needed, so they can earn themselves a rightful spot with pride, not with government’s help. The Great Depression was a very intense experience for us, even until today, the

It was obvious that the same new measures were needed primarily to save money on the rates but also possibly to tackle the causes of poverty. No solution appeared other than the complete abolishment of the poor allowance, which few wanted. Under the allowance system, one could work and receive outdoor relief in the form of cash payments as long as you resided in the parish of your birth. This system was said to encourage laziness as the poor would have no incentive to work hard or to respect their employers as they knew that their parish would look after them. The allowance system was regarded by the ruling class as an ‘unmitigated evil’.

Prior to the Poor Law Amendment Act there was the Elizabethan Poor Law 1601 which was more generous towards the poor. It was becoming impossible for the government to sustain this law due to the growing costs. Statistics show that in 1802 the expenditure on poor relief was costing the government £4,078,000, this figure continued to

Another cause of the depression was the lack of prosperity for many groups, and the lack of spending that soon resulted from this. In the early 1920s we know that the United States had a high prosperity. What is less known is that not everyone was sharing the good times. Immigrants from most countries, including those in Africa and Mexico, were sharing the same poor treatment as the Aboriginals in the United States. These groups were not doing well socially or economically and had low paying jobs. Many Americans simply could not afford to pay for many goods, and this created a massive reduction in purchasing. Factory workers suffered greatly from the reduction in purchasing; many factories had no need to keep the high levels of production going, and were forced to fire many employees. More workers still lost their jobs to machinery that could be used to the employers advantage to reduce the spending on wages. People now found themselves unemployed and unable to pay for their items previously purchased through

Poverty is the lack of the basic needs of life, including food, shelter, clothing and safe drinking water. For a person to live normally, it is important to meet a certain level of physical, social, and emotional needs. People who live in poverty have difficult time to achieve those as they are not welcomed in many places. Because of their low incomes, they have troubles in maintaining their health, hunger, education. Poverty has become a large issue around the world. It is something that many of us know about but we’re not realizing just how big of a problem it is. This paper will include basic information about poverty, its effects, facts and statistics which can make people aware and want to help reduce poverty.